Zoom: https://umac.zoom.us/j/93780921652 Password: 093949   Abstract Any modern society needs social hierarchies. We know which ones are unjust -- based on race, sex, and class -- but which ones are just? Wang Pei and Daniel Bell will draw on their book Just Hierarchy (Princeton University Press, 2022) to argue that morally justified hierarchies benefit not just those with power, but also those on the bottom of social hierarchies. They will illustrate this argument by drawing on examples of social hierarchies in contemporary China, from age-based hierarchies in the family to drinking banquets in academic settings and hierarchical relations between countries. The point is not to defend the status quo but to show how it can be improved by means of […]

Zoom: https://umac.zoom.us/j/93356482056 Password: 042929   Abstract The claim “although robbers are people, loving robbers is not loving people” in the Mohist Canons at first glance seems to contradict their doctrine of “jian’ai”, which is supposed to be all-inclusive. This paper explains why it does not. On the interpretation I shall propose, jian’ai is not merely proposed by the Mohists as a moral goal, but also as a side-constraint—in the sense that its minimum requirement “not to harm the innocent” serves as a moral constraint set upon all actions, including the endeavor to realize the moral goal jian’ai itself. This side-constraint makes sure that jian’ai in any case is not pursued at the cost of defeating itself. Since “not to harm […]